Fire damages Challenger astronaut widow’s Houston-area home

EL LAGO, Texas – The widow of 1986 Challenger astronaut Ron McNair has escaped injury after a fire damaged her Houston-area home near Johnson Space Center.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze early Wednesday at the El Lago (LAH’-goh) home of Cheryl McNair, who later said her security system alerted her to the fire. McNair, who was alone at home, says firefighters also rescued her cat, Rocka Jen.

Seabrook Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Nathan Douglas says the cause remains under investigation but it’s narrowed to the attic where an electrical water heater was located.

McNair is a founding director of the Challenger Center for Space Science Education, created by families of the seven astronauts killed in January 1986.

Ron McNair was a South Carolina native and a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University.